.J Þ:;t l t<>. '- <- Zion Narrows in Zion National Park. with the meandering little Virgin River trickling along below Yet it was the pipsqueak little Virgin, frightfully ram- bunctious in her you th (and pretty wild today on occasion), that scoured out the mammoth canyon you see. Like most of Utah's Parks, a great deal of the beauty and drama can be seen right from your car, thanks to remarkable road engineering that links the top attractions without distracting from the grandeur of the Park And in all Parks, a series of easy to difficult trails (so marked in guidebooks and maps) allow you to stretch your legs. . . and your imagination. Looking at a map, Zion and Bryce appear so close you fear a sameness in the landscape. Nothing could be further from the mark. Zion is massive, soaring; Bryce is delicate, ethereal. The approach to Bryce is both dramatic and deceptive. First Route 12 wends through colorful Red Canyon. . . then on into the Park and groves of towering Ponderosa pine until the earth suddenly drops off into a weird landscape. . . at first almost gro- tesque, but soon changIng to en- chanting. We spent hours here; me studying the rock strata, fault lInes and other geological oddities, trying to educate my wife on erosive qualities of sandstone and limestone But she preferred to spend her time picking out fonnations that looked like a castle, a camel, a sit- ting gopher or her Uncle Stanley. . . the fat one with the funny hat. She also goofed up reading the map and directed us to Sunrise Point to watch the sun set. It was still spectacular. But that's my wife. That's Utah. Unlike Bryce, you can see Capitol Reef National Park looming up on you all the time. Giant cliffs and towering rock battlements close in and evoke a feeling of travel amidst a lunar land- scape. . . only you escape into an oasis called Fruita, an early Monnon fruit- growing community turned National Park campground. Unless you have a grasp of geology and such things as reefs, domes and anticlines (vastly different from Uncle Stanley, I told my wife) you won't com- prehend the enormity of Capitol Reef That doesn't necessarily have to limit your impressions of grandeur. If you don't mind some gentle hikes, or if you're a4-wheeling buff, this 270,000-acre park opens up to views of overwhelming majesty. Arches National Park is next on the Utah agenda of splendor and if you didn't understand the primeval forces t t ' that created Capitol Reef, you'll never believe what created Arches Imagine bemg told that one solId mile of sandstone stood over your head only to be eroded away to leave the 90 some arches, and assorted other odd shapes, cliffs, spires and balanced rocks. Mind-boggling stuff. It's like Michelangelo is supposed to have saId about carving his masterpiece, David. . . "just cut away everything that doesn't look right:. Within Arches, the 18-mile park road provides easy access - and views - of many of the arches. But that's just the hors d'oeuvres The most dramatic and enchanting areas are best seen from one or more of the park's seven trails. Canyonlands is Utah's newest National Park and it takes some seeking out, as only two access routes suitable for family car or RV lead into the vast 337,570 acres of canyon country Easiest is that into the plateau area called Islands in the Sky, which provides vistas rivaling any in the world. Fine camping too. Excellent hiking and even better four-wheeling can be found at the southern entrance to the park which leads to The Needles section. '>.' \ ' \ -\ \ '>\., "\ "- "' '\. f ,I )... T' "" -N f f ,.. l. ( t .: '>J '\ Bi II and Betty Hughes stroll in front of rustic Bryce Canyon Lodge just a few steps away from the breathtaking overlook of Bryce Canyon National Park.